To those of us who have been toiling away trying to explain the benefits of targeted, measurable, interactive advertising: Bill Gates is on our side.

He pulls no punches, and believes that the shift will be ahead of schedule, and not smooth.

Yellow Pages: doomed.

Newspapers: doomed.

Traditional TV ad models: doomed.

And all sooner than people think.

While his linebacker, Steve Ballmer, might have said as much already, the point is important, and worth driving home. An excerpt:

"When you say something like 'plumber' the presentation you get will be far better than what you get in the Yellow Pages," Gates said. "After all, we know your location and so we can cluster [results] around that. ... Yellow Page usage amongst people in their, say below 50, will drop to near zero over the next five years."

Will Yahoo's new Sansa Connect service make a serious dent in Apple's market share? Unlikely, because of the quirky way the subscriptions work. But you've got to admire the thinking. On-the-go users will eventually demand a flexible way of downloading new songs. As these devices and subscription options for multiple services evolve, you've got to think Yahoo is well positioned for further innovation.